Lessons
by Tace
Summary: The new DADA teacher is delayed and Hermione is asked to step in until a replacement can be found. Things should be easy, right? Not quite...
1. Default Chapter

All Harry Potter related names are copyright J.K Rowling. With thanks to Argent and Kawaii_Kel  
  
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Lessons  
  
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"You OK, Hermione?" asked Ron on the way to their first lesson of their fifth year at Hogwarts.  
  
"Fine," said Hermione quietly.  
  
Ron shot a questioning look at Harry who just shrugged and they continued walking in silence.  
  
Hermione had gone relatively unnoticed on the train journey to Hogwarts, whilst Ron and Harry had amused themselves with tales from their school holiday. She didn't stay with them in the common room when they got there, and instead made her excuses and went to bed. They didn't even see her at breakfast the next day, and only managed to catch up with her when they saw her heading for Defence Against the Dark Arts.  
  
Ron whistled through the awkward silence and eventually, after what seemed like forever, they arrived at DADA.  
  
"Great," said Ron sarcastically as he observed the room, "How come we always get lumbered with Slytherin in Defence Against the Dark Arts? Is it part of the training? Survive the class with Slytherin and we'll give you a higher grade!"  
  
"Don't be so nasty," scolded Hermione.  
  
Ron looked to her once again.  
  
"Hermione, are you sure you're OK?" asked Ron. This time not as patiently.  
  
"I'm fine, there's just no need to be horrible about them."  
  
Ron stared at her, his jaw practically hitting the desk.  
  
"Just leave her," mouthed Harry quietly to Ron, "she's in a bad mood."  
  
Ron tapped his quill loudly on the desk. Harry could see Hermione's mouth twitch as she struggled not to tell him off.  
  
"So," said Harry, trying desperately to change the subject, "What do you think the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher will be like?"  
  
"Another idiot," replied Ron.  
  
"Well they haven't had a great track record so far..." agreed Harry.  
  
"I swear Dumbledore does it on purpose. When we leave he'll say, 'Ha ha, had you all going there!' "  
  
"I've heard it's a female Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher this year," said Harry.  
  
"She'll probably be a right dragon-which I suppose is fitting for the Dark Arts," replied Ron.  
  
"And old," Harry joined in, "And she'll look like my aunt!"  
  
"Or Dudley!" giggled Ron. "She's probably a big fat troll."  
  
"She's here," said Hermione standing up.  
  
Hermione walked to the front of the class and Harry and Ron stared at her.  
  
Then Ron started laughing. "Good joke Hermione, but you had better sit down before she sees you."  
  
"Yeah, sit down Granger," shouted Draco, "We don't want the poor woman's first vision of this class to be of you! She'll run away screaming."  
  
"This years Defence Against the Dark Eyes teacher has been unable to make it due to unforeseen circumstances. Professor Dumbledore has asked me to fill in until a replacement can be found. I've put some notes together to last a few lessons and then hopefully someone will be here to take over. "  
  
Draco led the Slytherins in a chorus of laughter.  
  
"Look, shut up Malfoy!" said Ron.  
  
"What's she going to do? Send me out?" he smirked.  
  
Ron looked at Hermione hopefully.  
  
"Ron, I'm not going to put up with anyone disrupting this class, please leave."  
  
"What?" yelled Ron jumping to his feet.  
  
Harry also stood up in complete shock. What was wrong with her? This was Hermione! "Hermione, he didn't do anything, he was defending you."  
  
Dumbfounded, and not taking his eyes off Hermione, Ron left the room.  
  
"If you're staying," said Hermione, staring sharply at Harry, "I suggest you sit."  
  
Harry sat down. If he wasn't so shocked he would have followed Ron straight out of the room.  
  
"I think this is going to be my favourite class," said Draco with a smile. 


	2. Chapter 2

Harry couldn't leave Defence Against the Dark Arts quick enough. He hurried off to look for Ron and found him sulking in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
"The Slytherins..." Harry blurted out of breath, "must have put a spell on her."  
  
"No," said Ron, getting up and kicking the wall in frustration. "She was acting weird before she saw them-even on the train."  
  
"Why didn't she tell us about Defence Against the Dark Arts? It doesn't make any sense."  
  
"I don't know, but I'm going to find out," said Ron, heading for the door.  
  
"Ron lets not go running into things."  
  
Ron sat back down as dramatically as he could, throwing his arms up in the air.  
  
"You'll probably find her in the Slytherin common room with her new mates," he replied sarcastically.  
  
"Maybe she was just trying to make a good impression on them. It can't be easy having to teach anyone, let alone the Slytherins!"  
  
Ron didn't reply and just stared straight ahead of him. His face was the same colour as his hair.  
  
"And maybe she thought we would make fun of her."  
  
"I would never make fun of Hermione," said Ron seriously. "She's our friend."  
  
"I know." Harry smiled slightly at the thought of Ron never making fun of Hermione.  
  
"Something is definitely going on. We just have to find out what." Ron looked as determined as he could.  
  
"With a bit of luck," said Harry, "they will find a replacement teacher soon and we will get the old Hermione back."  
  
"Any idea if Lockhart is free at the moment?" asked Ron hopefully.  
  
"It's not that bad," laughed Harry. "Yet."  
  
Ron looked a bit disappointed.  
  
"Look," said Harry eventually, "I'll go and speak to her now, and see if I can find out anything. You wait here, just incase she's still a bit edgy about earlier."  
  
Ron tutted his agreement and Harry made his way back to the DADA classroom.  
  
***  
  
"Hermione!" Harry called out to her back, which was walking off in the opposite direction to him. "Hermione, wait! Please."  
  
She stopped walking, but didn't turn to face him.  
  
"What is your problem Hermione? Ron is your friend and he was just defending you in class. You had no reason to send him out."  
  
Hermione turned slowly to face him.  
  
"Why are you making this difficult for me? I will not tolerate that behaviour in class just because you are my friends."  
  
"Are you listening to a word I'm saying?" asked Harry exasperated. "Ron didn't do anything!"  
  
"I have to go," said Hermione quietly, as she walked off.  
  
Harry stared after her in disbelief, then subsequently returned to Ron.  
  
"Any luck?" asked Ron as Harry slumped down into a chair next to him.  
  
Harry shook his head.  
  
"Do you think it's really Hermione?" said Ron enthusiastically. "Maybe it's an imposter!"  
  
"No," said Harry quietly. "It's definitely Hermione, which is why it doesn't make sense. There's something she's not telling us."  
  
"That job is cursed. It's sent her barmy," said Ron.  
  
"It's not even her job. She's just helping out so it shouldn't curse her. I get the feeling we've done something to upset her."  
  
"Well I'm upset at her. She's off her bloody trolley."  
  
"We've got Defence again later," Harry reminded Ron.  
  
"I'm not going. Not until she's back to normal."  
  
"Maybe we should talk to one of the teachers. McGonagall?" suggested Harry.  
  
"Don't be daft. She'll think we are just over reacting because Hermione's not giving us special treatment in class."  
  
"Good point."  
  
"Or," said Ron sitting up, "we could speak to Dumbledore?"  
  
"Nah," said Harry. "He gave her the job, he's hardly going say, 'Oh dear, I seem to have made a mistake' and anyway, she's one of them now. Probably not such a good idea after all."  
  
Harry and Ron decided to talk about anything and everything other than Hermione. They didn't have any more lessons until the afternoon, when they had another DADA class and then Potions. Hermione didn't go into the Gryffindor common room once. That suited Harry and Ron fine. Eventually Harry looked at his watch.  
  
"Nearly time for you know what," said Harry wearily. "Have you changed your mind about going?"  
  
"No," said Ron firmly.  
  
"You sure?"  
  
"Positive."  
  
"OK, I'll see you in Potions then."  
  
"Oh yeah," said Ron as he made a face. "I forgot about that. Snape and 'teacher' Hermione. What a combination."  
  
Harry laughed. "See you later... if I survive."  
  
"Rather you than me," smiled Ron as he opened another packet of chocolate frogs and relaxed back into the chair.  
  
***  
  
"Where's Weasley?" asked Hermione as she surveyed the class.  
  
"He's not coming, and his name is Ron," replied Harry, trying to keep his cool.  
  
"Is he ill?" she asked primly.  
  
"No, but he is sick. Sick of your strange behaviour."  
  
"I'll have to report his absence to the head of Gryffindor," said Hermione, matter of factly.  
  
"Report your missing personality too," muttered Harry.  
  
Hermione ignored him and wrote a memo to speak to Professor McGonagall later on. Then she took a huge pile of papers off her desk and started handing them out.  
  
"Today we are going to have a small test on werewolves and giants, to see if you have learned just how very dangerous they can be." She smiled at the Slytherins apologetically. "Don't worry," she said to a groaning Draco. "I'm sure you will do fine."  
  
Harry looked at her in disbelief. Evil werewolves and giants? She knew about Lupin and Hagrid, what was she talking about? He failed to see Hermione slip Draco a piece of paper with all the answers on as she walked back to her desk. The time ticked on and Harry drew some pictures on his test paper. There was no way that he was going to answer questions on 'evil' werewolves and giants. He was interrupted mid drawing as Snape entered the classroom, followed by Hermione. He didn't even realise she had left the class.  
  
"What seems to be the problem, Miss Granger?" asked Snape smoothly, but Harry could tell he had to force himself to be polite.  
  
"I didn't want to disturb the class in the middle of their test, but I noticed something on the floor and thought I should get a witness so that nobody thinks I'm being unfair and making false allegations."  
  
Hermione pointed to a piece of paper on the floor next to Harry. Snape swept over and picked it up.  
  
"So, Mr Potter," said Snape, hardly bothering to hide his glee. "Evil Werewolves and Giants is obviously not your best topic, otherwise you would not need this." He turned the paper slowly to face Harry.  
  
Harry was confronted with a list of test answers.  
  
"Come with me," said Snape, his voice cold, but strangely happy.  
  
"But I..." he looked at Hermione for help, but her face remained blank.  
  
"Now, Mr Potter."  
  
Slowly Harry got up and followed Snape out of the door. He didn't look at Hermione-he couldn't. 


	3. 3

Harry followed Snape down to the dungeons in silence. When they reached Snape's office, he pointed to a chair. "I think the serious nature of the situation requires your head of year to be present. Do not move"  
  
"It's not as if I crashed a flying car," muttered Harry when he thought Snape was out of earshot.  
  
Snape turned to look at him. "Maybe this time, Professor McGonagall will make the right decision," he smirked and swept out of the door.  
  
Great, thought Harry, It will be just my luck to get expelled on the first day back. This is the worst kind of deja vu.  
  
After what seemed like forever, a grave looking Professor McGonagall entered the room. Professor McGonagall peered at him over the tip of her glasses, "Before I hear what you have to say, Mr Potter, I think Miss Granger should be present." Professor McGonagall turned to face Snape, "Would you be so kind, Professor Snape?"  
  
Moodily, Snape left to fetch Hermione.  
  
"Harry," Professor McGonagall said, when Snape had left, "I know it must be difficult for you to have a friend suddenly put into a position of authority, but I hope that you are making the situation as easy for Miss Granger as possible."  
  
Harry nodded.  
  
"And how is Mr Weasley dealing with the situation?"  
  
"He's fine about it," lied Harry.  
  
Snape returned with a serious looking Hermione.  
  
"Miss Granger, I hear that Mr Potter was cheating in your test. Is this correct?"  
  
Hermione nodded sadly.  
  
"Just Harry?"  
  
"Yes," she said quietly.  
  
"And what about Mr Weasley?"  
  
Harry shot a pleading look at Hermione.  
  
"He didn't turn up to my lesson," replied Hermione as though she was going to cry, "and I had to send him out of my first lesson for disrupting the class."  
  
Professor McGonagall looked surprised. Snape looked as though he had won the lottery.  
  
"Professor Snape..." began McGonagall.  
  
"Of course," Professor Snape left to find Ron before she had even finished asking him. Harry had a mental image of Snape running like the wind to the Gryffindor common room.  
  
Professor McGonagall walked over to a shelf of potions and started to inspect them. Hermione refused to look at Harry. In record time, Snape returned, accompanied by Ron. He must have run, thought Harry.  
  
"Ah, Mr Weasley. Please sit down."  
  
Ron sat down and folded his arms across his chest. Professor McGonagall turned her attention to Harry. "I don't think we should draw this situation out any longer than it needs to be. Did you or did you not cheat in Miss Granger's lesson?"  
  
Harry looked at Ron. Ron was fuming. Then he looked at Hermione. She may be struggling to be a loyal friend, but he wasn't. He knew that she would lose the chance to be DADA teacher if they thought she was making it up and he wasn't going to do that to her.  
  
"Yes," he replied steadily.  
  
Ron almost fell off his chair.  
  
"All right Miss Granger, you may return to your class. I will take things from here."  
  
"Thank you Professor McGonagall," replied Hermione solemnly, as she left the office.  
  
"I will leave you to it," said Snape. "My Potions class should be arriving now." He looked utterly jubilant.  
  
"Thank you for your help, Professor Snape."  
  
Snape swept out of his office with a satisfied look upon his face.  
  
Professor McGonagall looked at Ron. "Mr Weasley, you cannot pick and choose the classes you attend. I am surprised that you took advantage of a friend. Report to Miss Granger's classroom at seven tonight, for your detention."  
  
Ron looked furious at both McGonagall and Harry.  
  
"You may leave now, and I suggest you go straight to your next class."  
  
He stormed out of the office.  
  
Professor McGonagall looked at Harry. "Harry, this is not like you at all. I hope you can appreciate how serious this situation is?"  
  
"Yes, Professor."  
  
"Very well, I will speak to Headmaster Dumbledore, and then he will most likely want to speak to you. You can go to your next class now."  
  
"Will I be expelled?" asked Harry quietly  
  
Professor McGonagall's expression softened for a moment. "I doubt very much that it will come to that."  
  
Relieved, Harry headed towards Potions, when an arm pulled him into a darkened corner of the corridor. It was Ron. "What is wrong with you?" he asked in an angry whisper.  
  
"Nothing. I just didn't want her to get into trouble."  
  
"Are you mad? She doesn't give two hoots about you!"  
  
"I don't know what is wrong with her or why she is acting the way she is, but I'm not stooping to her level."  
  
"Madness, complete madness. Looks like I'm dealing with two loonies now!"  
  
"Ron, I don't know what's the matter with her, but I'm giving her the benefit of the doubt for now. If I do get expelled, though, my feelings may change."  
  
Ron allowed himself to smile a little at this.  
  
"If you get expelled, I'll be following you straight out of the door!"  
  
Harry laughed. "I think we should go to Potions separately."  
  
"Hey, what happened to safety in numbers?"  
  
"Snape won't be expecting us to show up at the same time. Infact," he smiled "he's probably not expecting me to show up at all."  
  
"OK, see you in there!" Ron gave Harry a thumbs up sign, and walked on ahead.  
  
Harry waited about ten minutes then ambled slowly towards the Potions classroom. Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door and walked in. The look on Snape's face was a picture.  
  
"Mr Potter, I see you are still with us. Never mind. Hurry up and sit down."  
  
Ron gave Harry a strange look as he hurried to sit next to him.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Harry.  
  
"Look around you."  
  
"Why?" he said, puzzled as he surveyed the room, "I don't see anything strange. I was half expecting to find Hermione sitting next to Draco, but she's sitting next to Lavender so..."  
  
"No," said Ron, "Something isn't right. Lavender gave me a really evil look when I walked into the classroom."  
  
Harry looked over at Lavender, who was happily talking to Hermione. "Well, she seems fine now."  
  
"Are you saying I'm paranoid?" said a slightly peeved Ron.  
  
"No, something is going on, but is this level of paranoia really justified?" replied Harry, just as Neville threw a disembowelled rat at them.  
  
"Justified," they both chorused.  
  
***  
  
Harry and Ron made quick exits as soon as Potions was over.  
  
"Let's go outside," said Ron, "I'm not going to the common room with the Stepford Students."  
  
"Stepford Students?"  
  
"Long story. A joke about a Muggle movie my father once brought home from the Ministry. But, hey, feel free to question me about it after we escape!"  
  
Harry laughed as they left the dungeons and made their way out onto the grounds.  
  
"She's turning them against us," said Ron suddenly.  
  
"I can't think of any possible explanation for the way she's acting."  
  
"I can: she's nuts!"  
  
Harry looked thoughtful for a moment. "Let's go and speak to Hagrid. I haven't seen much of him since he returned with Madame Maxine."  
  
"Good thinking. Unless she's got to him too..."  
  
They made there way along to Hagrid's hut. The door was slightly ajar, and they could hear muffled noises from inside.  
  
"Hagrid?" Harry called out.  
  
"'Ello Harry, Ron. I'm just sorting out these baby pixies for tomorrow's lesson."  
  
Ron hovered reluctantly in the doorway. "Are they dangerous?"  
  
"Nah, the worst they can do is bite. Ain't 'hat right me beauties?"  
  
Ron went slightly pale, but Harry encouraged him to sit down. Ron moved his chair as close to the door as possible-just incase. Hagrid took the Pixies off the table and replaced them with some cakes. " 'Elp yourself," he said cheerfully.  
  
"Thanks," replied Harry and Ron, both taking a cake, but having no intentions of actually eating them. They had had experience of Hagrid's cooking.  
  
"Hagrid," began Harry after a pushing look from Ron, "something is wrong with Hermione. She's acting really weird, and well, she's started turning people against us."  
  
Hagrid looked surprised. "Maybe she's just feelin' under pressure 'cause of the whole teaching thing. It's not easy being a teacher yeh know."  
  
Ron rolled his eyes. Harry tried again. "She is acting very strange, favouring the Slytherins in class and even accusing me of cheating." A purposeful cough came from Ron's direction. "Oh, and she sent Ron out of class for defending her."  
  
"Well, if you've noticed a change in her, then something must be wrong. You're her friends after all. I'll speak to her after tomorrow's Magical Creatures lesson."  
  
"Thanks," said Harry gratefully.  
  
Ron looked at Hagrid's clock. 6.55pm. "I suppose I should go to detention now. I'm not going to speak to her though."  
  
Harry laughed. "I'll walk back with you. Thanks for everything Hagrid."  
  
Hagrid had already turned his attention back to the pixies.  
  
"Hagrid should be able to get through to her," said Harry, as he and Ron trudged along the grounds back to the castle.  
  
"Hope so."  
  
They both walked quietly up to the DADA classroom.  
  
"Guess I'll see you later then," said Ron, sounding like a condemned man.  
  
"I'll come and meet you if you want."  
  
"Yeah, cheers. See you."  
  
Harry watched as Ron entered the classroom, then, not sure where to go, wandered along the hallway. He wasn't a fan of all the attention he received just for being 'Harry Potter' but it was a lot better than getting the cold shoulder from his fellow Gryffindors. It was much more fun wandering around the darkened corridors with Ron and Hermione. Hermione, he thought sadly, what's going on? Opening a door to his right, he walked into an empty classroom. Sitting down he leaned forward and rested on a desk. After taking his glasses off, he closed his eyes. He woke suddenly, unable to work out where he was. Reaching anxiously for his glasses, he tried to retrace his movements in his head, Hermione acting strange, Hagrid, yeah talked to Hagrid, Ron...detention. He jumped up and looked at his watch, realising he was supposed to meet Ron after his detention. Harry ran to the DADA classroom avoiding curious ghosts and nosy Prefects. The door was closed so he figured that Ron was still in there. After ten minutes the door opened and Ron and Hermione walked out together, laughing.  
  
"Ron?" asked Harry, confused. Ron ignored him and walked, cheerfully up the corridor with Hermione. Harry stared after them. "Not you too," he whispered. 


	4. Chapter 4

Harry sat up slowly, the sun shining on him through the windows. Everything was still and all the other beds were empty. He looked at his watch. It read 7.am. Where was everyone? Thinking he may as well get ready for the day, he took his time to get dressed. 'Maybe,' he thought, yesterday was just an unpleasant dream. Though he realised that if it was just a dream, Ron would have woken him up before leaving. Strolling slowly downstairs towards the Great Hall, he noticed it was very quiet. "That's odd;" he said aloud, "the elves usually get the breakfast things ready at this time."  
  
"Mr Potter, where should you be?" came a stern voice from behind him. He turned to face Professor McGonagall.  
  
"I don't know..." he replied confused.  
  
"I believe, Mr Potter, that your first lesson of the day is Defence Against the Dark Arts?"  
  
"First lesson of the day? But it's not even half past seven!"  
  
"Nonsense, boy. It is ten am. I am very disappointed that you are still treating Miss Granger, one of your closest friends, this way. Get to her lesson now. And I'll see you in detention tonight."  
  
Harry walked slowly to DADA, puzzled at the morning's events. Someone must have altered the time on my watch, he reflected. Bracing himself, he knocked on the door and walked in. Hermione, who was talking to Draco, completely ignored him. He sat on his own at the back of the class, again passing the time by drawing. He was quite impressed by his new discovered talent.  
  
A few times he looked over at Ron who was looking at him funny and holding up random objects.  
  
As soon as the lesson ended he made his way to Hagrid's hut for Care of Magical Creatures. Hagrid winked at him a few times during the lesson and called Hermione over when it had finished. Hermione went into Hagrid's hut while Harry lingered outside, looking through the window. Hagrid's back was facing the window blocking Hermione's form. He hoped things were going well, but when Hagrid turned around and stared at him, he decided to run!  
  
Harry decided to head for the library. Usually, if he wanted to avoid Hermione this wouldn't have been his first choice of location, but given the circumstances, he didn't think she would be visiting there anytime soon. Lost in thought, he sat at a table and absently turned the pages of a random book he had pulled off the shelf. Madam Pince didn't look too pleased to see him, but it was difficult to know if she had been 'Hermioned' due to her natural personality.  
  
"This has got to stop." Pansy Parkinson threw her books on the table and sat down, facing Harry.  
  
Bewildered, Harry just stared at her.  
  
"Earth to superstar. Your little frizzy friend, and wannabe Slytherin is getting too big for her boots. Others can't see through her little game plan, but I can."  
  
"You mean, she hasn't got to you?"  
  
"Oh please. She's way out of her depth."  
  
Harry didn't know whether to feel relieved or even more stressed.  
  
"So, what's the story?" asked Pansy.  
  
"She changed."  
  
"Just like that?"  
  
"She was different when she arrived and now everyone I'm close to seems to be turning against me."  
  
"Well, no chance of that happening to me then. I'm already against you!"  
  
Again Harry found himself speechless.  
  
"So," said Pansy, "what do you propose we do?"  
  
"We?"  
  
"Well since your usual sidekicks are otherwise engaged, and insane, I'm your only hope."  
  
"I haven't exactly got a plan."  
  
"But that's what you do. You overcome evil and get zillions of house points whilst everyone fortunate enough not to be in Gryffindor claps politely."  
  
"Well Hermione is usually the one that does the research and comes up with a plan."  
  
"I say we get Hermione and kick the..."  
  
"Pansy!" Harry warned.  
  
"OK, we need to retrace her movements. You said she was acting more demented than usual before she even got here?"  
  
"Yeah..."  
  
"So we go to the Hogwarts Express."  
  
"Um, maybe this is a stupid question, but where exactly is the Hogwarts Express kept?"  
  
Pansy looked thoughtful. "I suppose it stays at Platform nine and three quarters when it's not in use. There's only one way to find out." She stood up and headed for the door.  
  
Harry began to wonder if there was another side to Pansy that he wasn't aware of. This thought left his mind when she reached the door and said "Try not to walk too close to me, Potter; we wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea."  
  
He sighed and followed her out into the corridor.  
  
"Oh," said Pansy suddenly, "you'll need to bring that invisibility thing."  
  
"You know about that?" asked Harry surprised.  
  
Pansy rolled her eyes. "You're not as clever as you think and far too over hyped. Now hurry up."  
  
Amazed Harry went to his dorm, retrieved the cloak and met a foot-tapping, hands-on-hip Pansy at the main entrance.  
  
"I've forgot my wand, I'll have to go back," gasped Harry, who was out of breath.  
  
"You really are pathetic," sighed Pansy.  
  
"Look, I never asked you to help. If I'm that pathetic, maybe I should go on my own."  
  
"And dramatic too," muttered Pansy.  
  
Harry turned and headed back once again to his dorm.  
  
"Ron?"  
  
Ron, who was sitting on his bed, stood up when Harry entered the dorm. "Where have you been? I told you in Defence to meet me here at 11:30!" he threw his hands up in exasperation.  
  
"You didn't talk to me in Defence!"  
  
"I know that. I told you in code so she wouldn't notice."  
  
Harry shook his head, "I don't know what's wrong with you, but if this is some sort of trick I won't..."  
  
"Harry, will you just listen? I knew the detention would be a perfect chance for me to find out what is going on. I just played along with Hermione so I could find out!"  
  
Relieved Harry sat down.  
  
"Not just a pretty face," said Ron patting his own head.  
  
"What did you find out?"  
  
"Well, we were right about one thing, she's definitely nuts!"  
  
Harry laughed, "Anything else?"  
  
"She kept trying to look into my eyes, so I made endless excuses to look elsewhere. Oh look is that Merlin? Darn, you just missed him. That sort of thing," Ron winked.  
  
"Did she say anything?"  
  
"Not much, she just giggled a lot. But she did say some unflattering things about you!"  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"I better not say."  
  
Harry looked at the ground.  
  
"Don't worry," said Ron optimistically, "at least now we know something is definitely wrong and we can solve the mystery."  
  
"Ah," said Harry slowly, "there's something you should know."  
  
"What," replied Ron, who was starting to get worried.  
  
"Come on," said Harry, motioning for the door.  
  
"What's she doing here?" Ron practically yelled when they met Pansy.  
  
"I could say the same for you, Weasley," Pansy snapped.  
  
"Pansy's going to help us find out what's wrong with Hermione. We're going to the Hogwarts Express."  
  
"She's going to help?" asked Ron, pointing at Pansy, "Help us get into trouble more like."  
  
"Come on you two, we need all the help we can get. Let's go." said Harry.  
  
"Fine," Ron and Pansy both replied whilst glaring at each other.  
  
The strange situation felt vaguely familiar to Harry. He looked at Ron and Pansy. It was almost as if... no, it couldn't be. He pushed the thought out of his mind, pulled the invisibility cloak over the three of them and headed outside. 


	5. Chapter 5

Harry, Ron and Pansy apparated from the edge of Hogwarts' grounds to King's Cross Station. Pansy had learned how to do it from a seventh year Slytherin who made fake licences-for a small fee. Harry and Ron were impressed, but didn't show it. They found themselves looking directly up at the train.  
  
"Hey, we didn't even have to go through that bloody wall," Ron pointed out. Pansy glared him into silence.  
  
"So, how do we get on there?" she asked.  
  
"The trolley lady," replied Harry.  
  
"What?" Pansy stopped glaring at Ron and turned her attention to Harry.  
  
"I'm a good customer. She will let us on." Harry knocked on one of the carriage doors, but there was no answer.  
  
"Any other bright ideas, Potter?" snapped Pansy.  
  
Ron walked up to a carriage door and turned the handle. The door opened effortlessly. "Well, would you look at that," smiled Ron. Pansy pushed past him and went aboard. Harry and Ron followed her.  
  
"OK, let's start searching the train," Pansy instructed. "Look out for anything strange."  
  
"Um, guys," said Ron, who was looking out of one of the windows, "the station's moving."  
  
Pansy followed his gaze. "No, that would be us." All three of them looked out of the window. Pansy moved away and called out, "Hey, trolley lady!" There was no answer. "There's nobody else here," she said exasperated. "Why did I let you talk me into this?"  
  
"You wanted to help," answered Harry. "It was your bright idea to come here." Ron went off in the opposite direction leaving Pansy glaring at Harry. He returned moments later, looking excited.  
  
"Did you find something?" asked Harry, hopefully.  
  
"Yeah. Even if the trolley lady isn't here the trolley is and it's full of food!"  
  
Pansy rolled her eyes. "Can't you think of anything other than your stomach at a time like this?" she sneered.  
  
"Hey, it's better than nothing. If we're going to be stuck in here, destination unknown, we may as well enjoy the ride," Ron protested. They ate in silence with the occasional tut coming from Pansy's direction. Eventually the train began to slow. Then the lights went out.  
  
"I can't see anything," said Ron.  
  
"That's kind of why lights are important," replied Pansy, sarcastically.  
  
"Have we stopped moving?" asked Harry, just before the train came to an abrupt halt.  
  
"We have now," said Pansy. The lights went on again, but to a much dimmer shade than before. It was almost a ghostly glow.  
  
"So is anyone going to have a look outside?" Ron whispered. Pansy got up and headed towards one of the doors. "Maybe she won't come back?" he wondered aloud. "It would be awful if some hideous monster captured her and we never saw her again."  
  
"I think the monster would run for its life," Harry smiled and got to his feet. "Come on," he said, "we'd better go with her." They followed Pansy to the door, where she was standing, looking at it.  
  
"Hurry up then," said Ron, "what are you waiting for?" The door opened before Pansy had a chance to do anything.  
  
"Ah, Parkinson. I knew you had it in you." Pansy stepped down off the train.  
  
"Can I stay for a bit," she asked, "I'm not in a rush to go back to Hogbores."  
  
Lucius Malfoy stared at Harry and Ron. "The more the merrier," he smiled. 


	6. Chapter 6

Ron squinted his eyes in the dark room. "I can't believe this."  
  
"Don't blame yourself," said Harry.  
  
"I don't, I blame you," Ron replied. "You were the one who talked Pansy into coming with us. I can't believe you trusted her. She's about as trustworthy as a pet rat."  
  
"Look, I already told you. I didn't have any other options seeing as everybody else was ignoring me."  
  
"I wasn't ignoring you, I was undercover," Ron argued.  
  
"OK, we're not getting anywhere here, lets just figure out how to escape. We can try and open the door," said Harry who was eager to change the subject.  
  
"What and walk straight past Lucius and say 'It was nice meeting you, we won't call again, your son is a girl, bye de bye' ? There has to be some other way!"  
  
With that, the door opened and Pansy appeared. She instantly drew a finger to her mouth and quietly shut the door.  
  
"Ready to move?" she asked them.  
  
"What?" replied Harry and Ron together.  
  
"We have to leave quickly if we're going to go unnoticed. That means now!"  
  
"And you expect us to go with you because..." Ron asked.  
  
"I'm your only hope," she said with a smile.  
  
"Pansy, you led us to a death eater. That means you're pretty low on the people we trust list," Harry pointed out.  
  
She sighed and took a deep breath. "OK, here's the situation. I knew you wouldn't come with me if I told you Draco's daddy dearest was going to be here, but I needed you here if he was going to trust me with this," she said as she pulled out a small pink crystal. "This is going to help us find out why Hermione is so physco."  
  
"I'm not being funny," said Ron, "but when you speak it just translates as 'I'm lying'."  
  
Pansy began to lose her temper "If you don't want me to help you that's fine. I'll just leave you here. Lucius has gone now but he'll be back later, especially as he's left his sexy snake cane here. So my bit of advice is run while your heart is still pumping."  
  
"Are you going to take us for tea with your death eater parents?" Ron asked sarcastically.  
  
She looked shocked for a moment. "My parents aren't death eaters," she said quietly.  
  
Ron shot Harry a glance. "Of course they are, you're a Slytherin and you know the most evil beings on the planet. Also, you're really horrible."  
  
"Haven't you ever considered that maybe I'm horrible because I'm rich and spoilt?"  
  
Harry and Ron looked at her slightly surprised.  
  
"Harry, I know what Voldemort did to your parents and bringing you here to die a painful death will probably have some kind of traumatic effect on you, but you want to help Hermione and this is the only way. Voldemort knows my parents are filthy rich and he's more than happy to have me show up here whenever I want as a mini death eater in training." They heard voices approaching the room and Pansy rushed over to a black brick in the wall and pushed it in. A hole in the floor appeared and she roughly pushed them through it. "You'll thank me later." 


	7. Chapter 7

"Neville!" Hermione called over to her friend who was reading a book in the Gryffindor common room.  
  
He looked up. "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's Harry and Ron, they're both missing and so is Pansy!"  
  
"Do you think she's with them?" he asked. Hermione nodded her head. "Then we should tell someone."  
  
"No we can't, they will get into trouble. They've probably left because of me."  
  
"Neville stood up. Look, there was no way you could have told them what was going on otherwise you would have put them in danger. You know what they're like. Do you think I go around acting like a clumsy clown for the fun of it?"  
  
Hermione looked at the ground. "I really wish..."  
  
"No, don't!" said Neville quickly.  
  
She stared at him. "I guess I've got a class to go and teach."  
  
***  
  
"Ow, what are you trying to do, kill me? No, don't answer that," Ron complained as he fell to the ground with a bump.  
  
"Don't be such a baby," replied Pansy who was smoothing out the creases in her skirt, "It would have been a lot more painful if I had left you there with the divine Mr Malfoy."  
  
"My mum is going to yell at me when she finds out that my wand is on the Hogwarts Express," he continued to moan.  
  
"I took the wands from both of you when you weren't looking so that nobody could steal them when we arrived."  
  
"You know, you're really not growing on me, Pansy," Ron sulked.  
  
"Will you two be quiet?" Harry said as he looked around. "Where are we?"  
  
"I'm not sure," replied Pansy. "I've never taken this route."  
  
"Have you got your wand?"  
  
Pansy looked sheepish. "I sort of left it on the train with the others."  
  
"That's just great," said Ron throwing his hands up in the air.  
  
"We could try some wandless magic," suggested Pansy.  
  
"Are you joking? I have enough trouble doing magic with my wand, never mind without it," Ron continued to sulk.  
  
Pansy closed her eyes and pointed towards a tree. "We don't know where we are and we need to fly away, so help us out so we can live another day."  
  
Harry and Ron looked towards the tree which was starting to shake. Pansy's eyes were still closed. "Is it working?" she asked.  
  
They didn't have a chance to answer her as the great big oak toppled over and Ron pulled Pansy out of the way. The tree shattered to the ground and splintered.  
  
"Did you see what I did?" Pansy asked with a huge smile on her face.  
  
"Yes, congratulations! You almost killed us again. Quick round of applause for Pansy please," said Ron sarcastically.  
  
"I did wandless magic," she stood up, practically screaming.  
  
Harry walked over to the fallen tree and looked at a flat piece of bark that was hovering just above the ground. "I think we're supposed to use this," he said quietly. He sat on it slowly and was relieved when it didn't smash to the ground. Pansy sat next to him and Ron sat on the end. It still floated but it didn't move.  
  
"Maybe you have to talk to it," said Harry to Pansy. "You made it."  
  
"Fly," she commanded. And it did. 


End file.
